Automatic safety-stop for hoisting-engines



(N0 Medal.) 3 Shets-Sheet 1.

J. E. RICHARDS. AUTOMATIC SAFETY $TOP FOR HOISTING ENGINES.

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(N0 Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. E. RICHARDS. AUTOMATIC SAFETY STOP FOR HOISTING ENGINES.

Patented Jan. 4, 1898.

IN VENTOR A TTOHNEYS.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

I J. E. RICHARDS. AUTOMATIC SAFETY STOP FOR HOISTING ENGINES.

Patented Jan. 4,1898,

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UNITED STATES PATENT Critics,

JAMES E. RICHARDS, OF CALUMET, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY-STOP FOR HOISTINGENGINES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 596,829, dated January4, 1898. e fil d March 15, 1897. Serial No. 627,538. on s.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES E. RICHARDS, of Calumet, in the county ofHoughton and State of Michigan, have invented a new and ImprovedAutomatic Safety-Stop for Hoisting-Engines, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to hoisting-engines for raising and lowering thecages in mines; and its object is to provide a new and improvedsafety-stop for hoisting-engines, arranged in such a manner as toautomatically control the admission of the motive agent for thehoisting-engine, to control the brake mechanism and the reversing-leverin case the speed of the engine is not checked before the cage reachesthe landing.

The invention consists principally of a screw-rod driven from the enginein unison with the movement of the hoisting cable or cables, a nutmounted to travel on the said screw-rod, and a tripping-arm adapted tobe raised by the said nut and moved in engagement with the governor orother movable part driven from the engine, the said trippingarmcontrolling a device connected with the admission-valve, the brakemechanism, and the reversing-lever.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details andcombinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter andthen pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of theimprovement. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is asectional plan view of the same on the line i 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is asimilar view of the same on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a likeview of the same on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a sectional sideelevation of the spring-pressed friction-roller on the stoplever. Fig.Sis a side elevation of the spring for holding the tripping-arm in placeon the support. Fig. 9 is a sectional plan view of the improvement onthe line 9 9 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 10 is a similar View of the same on theline 10 10 of Fig. 1.

The automatic safety-stop to be hereinafter described in detail can beattached to any hoisting-engine whether one or two cables or ropes forhoisting one or two separate cages are operated by one drum. As shown inthe drawings,the device is intended for two cables or ropes on one drum,and hence the machine is built double, the parts of the two machinesbeing alike in construction, so that it suffices to describe but one, asthe act-ion of both machines is exactly the same. When one cable or ropeis used, only one such machine is employed.

The improved device is mounted on a suitably-constructed frame A,provided with a base A, a top plate A and columns A connecting the saidbase A with the top plate A In the latter are fitted, to slidevertically, sets of rods B, of which the two rods in a set are connectedwith each other at their lower ends by a curved arm 13, and the upperends of the rods in two adjacent sets are connected with each other by across-head B as plainly shown in the drawings. The rods B, arms 13, andcross-head B form a vertical slide.

On the under side of each cross-head B is screwed a loop C, engaged by apin orafriction-roller D, held on the free end of an arm D, secured on ashaft E, jour'naled in suitable bearings E, secured to the top plate ANear the middle of the shaft E is secured an upwardly and outwardlyextending arm F,

' connected by a link F with the steam-brake and reversing-lever for thehoisting-engine and by a link F with the valve-stem of theadmission-valve for the engine, so that when the arm Dis caused to swingin the direction of the arrow a, as hereinafter described more fully,the steam-brake, the reversingdever, and the steam-valve are actuated tostop the hoisting-engine. On one end of the shaft E is secured a curvedarm E formed at its free end with a seat E for the peripheral surface ofa roller G, journaled in the forked end of a rod G, pressed on by aspring G held at its lower end on an eyebolt G held adjustably on abracket A, secured to one of the columns A (See Fig. 2.)

The spring G holds the roller G at the end of the arm E so as to holdthe shaft E in normal position, with the arm D supporting the rods B inan uppermost position, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and Then the arm D iscaused to swing downward in the direction of the arrow at, thenpwardmovement of the curved arm E causes the roller G to roll off its seat Eto release the latter and the pressure of the spring G so thata quickclosing of the admission-valve and a quick application of the brakemechanism and reversing-lever takes place, as hereinafter more fullydescribed.

The arms B are adapted to be engaged by a tripping-arm H, mounted toslide loosely at its middle on the upper smooth end of a screw-rod I,journaled in suitable bearings formed in the top plate A and a casing Aattached to the base A. The arm l-I normally rests near its ends onsupports J, clamped or otherwise secured on verticallydisposed rods K,attached to the top and bottom plates K and K rigidly connected witheach other by stay-bolts K so as to form a frame guided onvertically-disposed guiderods A depending from the top plate A of theframe A. The bottom plate K of the said supporting-frame for thetripping-arm H is adapted to be lifted by a nut I, in which screws thescrew-rod I, and which nut is provided with an arm 1 fitted to slidevertically on a guide-rod A, attached to one of the columns A of themain frame A. The tripping-arm II is provided with downwardlyextendingrods H, passing through slots K formed in the bottom plate K, (see Fig.10,) and on the lower ends of the said rods H are hung the weights H sothat when the tripping-arm H is moved off its supports J it rapidlyslides downward by the action of the said weights ll until the ends ofthe arms engage the arms B of the rods B. The arm H is normally held inplace on the supports J by springs K attached to the top plate K, asshown in Fig. 8; but the said springs yield when the free ends of thearms H are forcibly turned around, so as to disengage the arm from itssupport. The free ends of the arms H are adapted to be engaged by thegovernor-arms N of a centrifugal governor N, having its shaft N 2journaled in the top plate A and in a column A attached to the base A.(See Fig. 1.)

The lower end of the shaft N is provided with a beveled gear-wheel Nmeshing with a beveled gear-wheel N, mounted on a shaft N carrying apulley N, driven by a belt from the hoisting-engine, so that thegovernor'N is actuated as long as the engine is in motion, the arms N ofthe governor moving outward into an open position 'while the engine isrunning at the usual rate of speed and so as to engage the arms H incase the latter are moved upward by the nut I and in case the engine isnot stopped at the time the cage nears the landing. On the shaft N isalso secured a disk 0, provided on its under side with lugs 0, adaptedto engage the tripping-arms H in case the engine has its speedslackened, and the arms N are in an inward position, as shown in Fig. 1,so that the arms H on rising come in contact with the said lugs O, whichlatter impart a turning mo tion to the tripping-arms H, so as to movethe same off their supports J. The lower end of each screw-rod I isprovided with a beveled gear-wheel I in mesh with a beveled gear wheel 1mounted on a shaft 1 connected by a positive means with thehoisting-drum, so that the said shaft I and the screw-rod l are rotatedin unison with the movement of the hoisting-cable for the cage. As shownin Fig. 1, the shaft I is provided with a sprocketwheel I, connected bya sprocket-chain with a sprocket-pulley on the hoisting-drum shaft. (Notshown.)

The operation is as follows: The screw-rod I, nut I, and the framecarrying the tripping-arm H are so arranged relative to thehoisting-cable and cage that when the cage nears the landing in the minethe arm H is in an uppermost position to be engaged by the governor-armsN in case the speed of the engine has not been checked by the operator.Now when the cage is at the bottom of the mine the nut I is in alowermost position on the screw-rod I, and when the engine is started towind up the hoisting-cable to lift the cage then the screw-rod I isturned and the nut I is caused to travel upward on the said screw-rod tolift the frame supporting the arm H, the latter resting on the supportsJ, attached to the rods K of the said frame, as previously explained.Now when the cage nears the landing and the speed of the engine is notchecked the governor-arms N strike the arm H and turn the same SUfll'ciently to move the ends thereof off the supports J, whereby the arm iscaused to slide downward on the smooth end of the screwrod 1, and thearms in descending move in an engagement with the arms B, so as to carrythe same along and thereby pull the slide-rods B, the slide cross-headsB and loop 0 in the same direction to impart a swinging motion to thearm D in the direction of the arrow Ct to trip the spring-pressed rollerG and to cause the links F and F to actuate the brake mechanism andreversing-lever and to close the admission valve for the steam to thehoisting-engine, so that the engine is stopped before the cage reachesthe landing. In case the speed of the engine is checked by the operatorin charge before the cage reaches the landing the arms N do not affectthe arms H and the latter are carried past the arms N in an upwarddirection to be finally engaged by the lugs O on the disk 0, secured onthe governor-shaft N The lugs 0 now impart a turning motion to thetripping-arm H, so as to throw the same off the supports J and to causethe arm to actuate the slide and loop 0, as previously explained, toclose the admission-valve and apply the brake and reversing-lever tostop the cage at the time it reaches the landing.

In order to take up the shock incident to the tripping-arm H strikingthe curved arm LOO B of the slide, 1 provide the rods B with buffers Bon the top of the cross-head 13*, so as to cushion the parts connectedwith the slide and arm II.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent 1. In an automatic safety-stopforhoistingengines, a screw-rod driven from the engine in unison withthe movement of the hoisting cable or cables, a nut mounted to travel onthe said screw-rod, a frame adapted to be raised by the said nut andprovided with a support, and a weighted arm adapted to be turned andnormally resting on the said support, a governor,the said arm beingadapted to be turned by said governor, and means whereby the weightedarm when released from said support will close the admission-valve andactuate the brake mechanism and reversing-lever, substantially as shownand described.

2. In an automatic safety-stop for hoistingengines, aweightedtripping-arm, a governor,

the tripping-arm being adapted to be engaged by the governor to turn thearm and move it from its normal support, and a mechanism adapted to beactuated by the said arm when the arm is released from its support, suchmechanism being connected with the admission-valve for thehoisting-engine, the brake mechanism and reversing-lever,substantiallyas shown and described.

3. In an automatic safety-stop for hoistingengines, a revoluble diskhaving lugs and driven by the hoisting-engine, a tripping-arm adapted tobe engaged by the said lugs for turning the arm, means for supportingand lifting the arm in unison with the cage, and a mechanism adapted tobe actuated by the said arm and connected with the admissionvalve forthe engine, the brake mechanism and reversing-lever, substantially asshown and described.

4. In an automatic safety-stop for hoistingengines, a screw-rod drivenfrom the engine in unison with the movement of the hoisting cable orcables, anut mounted to travel on the said screw-rod, a frame adapted tobe lifted by the said nut and provided with a support, a weighted armmounted to turn on the said screw-rod and normally resting on the saidsupport, means actuated from the hoistingengine and adapted to turn thesaid arm to move the latter oh": its support, and a leverand-linkmechanism connected with the said frame and connected with theadmissionvalve of the hoisting-engine, the brake mechanism and thereversing-lever, substantially as shown and described.

5. In an automatic safety-stop for hoistingengines, a rock-shaftconnected with the admission-valve and the brake mechanism and providedwith arms for supporting a frame, a

curved arm held on the said shaft and formed at its free end with acurved seat, a roller normally resting in the said seat, and a springconnected with the rod in which the said roller is journaled, so thatwhen the said arm is caused to swing the roller moves out of the seatand the arm is relieved of the pressure of the spring, substantially asshown and described.

6. In an automatic safety-stop for hoistingengines, a cushioned slideconnected with the admission-valve, the brake mechanism andreversing-lever, an arm adapted to engage the said slide to move it andactuate the said parts, a frame having a support, means for raising theframe to carry the said arm along, and means for disengaging the saidarm from the frame and permitting the arm to drop onto the saidcushioned slide, substantially as shown and described.

7 In an automatic safety-stop for hoistingengines, a slide connectedwith devices for operating the admissionvalve, the brake mechanism andreversing-lever, the said slide comprising rods, arms connecting pairsof rods with each other, a cross-head for the said rods and connectedwith the said devices, and buffers for the rods and cross-head,substantially as shown and described.

8. In an automatic safety-stop for hoistingengines, the combination of aweighted tripping-arm, a support adapted normally to hold said arm, agovernor capable of throwing the. tripping-arm from the said support,and means for transmitting controlling movement to parts of thehoisting-engine, such means being engaged and operated by the arm whensaid arm is released from its support.

9. The combination of avertically-extending revoluble screw, a nut inwhich said screw is turned whereby the nut is moved vertically on thescrew, a carriage moved vertically with the nut, a tripping-armsupported by the carriage, a governor capable of throwing the trippingarm from said support, and means for transmitting controlling movementto parts of the hoisting-engine, such means being operated by thetripping-arm when the tripping-arm is thrown by the said governor.

10. The combination of a vertically-movable carriage, a tripping-armnormally supported by the carriage, a governor capable of throwing thetrippingarm from said normal support, and means for transmittingcontrolling movement to parts of the hoistingengine, such means beingengaged by the tripping-arm as the tripping-arm is thrown by thegovernor.

JAMES E. RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

A. T. STREETER, A. W. KERR.

